So sorry for taking such a long time with that last chapter, hopefully that won't happen again :P Like I said a long time ago, I get busy sometimes. Plus that one was longer! Hope you liked it. Please review this if you have the time! I love reviews. Way more than I should. :3

Aela sighed a bit, rubbing at her eye with a clenched fist. Her silver gaze skirted along all papers regarding the Silver Hand as if some new information would come up, something that might take her mind off of the small funeral her Shield-siblings had the night before. Annika hadn't been there. Off running errands for her like usual. The Dragonborn hadn't been on her mind as much as usual for obvious reasons even though the huntress was using her as a Silver Hand assassin. She had plenty of other things to think about.

The black-haired twins were being especially selfless if she ever came around. That didn't happen very often since she spent most of her time in the living quarters, having pushed all of the food and banquet items off one of the tables to reserve it for her needs, and staring at the meager information she had managed to collect on the Silver Hand. Whenever Kodlack walked by she did her best to make it look as if she was investigating the fragments of Wuuthrad. Aela knew that the old man didn't like her seeking blood in the way that she was. But the huntress couldn't help it. She had so much pent up aggression and sadness - it had to be let out at some point and she honestly didn't care how. Yet she didn't breathe a word of it to any of her Shield-siblings besides Annika. None of them could be fully trusted.

Annika took the most pity on her, that much was made obvious. Every time the Dragonborn came to Jorrvaskr after having returned from one of her missions, she would retreat to the living quarters to find Aela and would always try and fail to speak with her. The huntress would simply look at her and mutter very brief responses, but if Annika brought up Skjor she dropped the conversation entirely. Aela actually wasn't sure how she felt about the Dragonborn after his passing. The argument the two had the day before he died still lingered heavily, looming over her like a sort of fog. Another fact that made guilt bite at her core was the fact that the last thing she had said to him was related to Xakos. And the last time the two ever touched was when she slapped him. The huntress felt her eyes becoming glossy.

Her sharp teeth bit down on her bottom lip so hard that a fine path of blood trickled off her chin. She wiped it frantically away with the heel of her hand, glaring at the wood of the table as if it had just insulted her. Emitting a noise that sounded partially like she was clearing her throat and a bit like a growl, she tried to bring her attention back to the Silver Hand plans she managed to steal from a courier a few days before. Another thought that started to greatly burden her was that Kodlack recently asked if she could send Annika his way the next time she was in Jorrvaskr. He wanted to talk to her. What about, she had absolutely no idea. But it worried her greatly. Aela had sent Annika out to eradicate another Silver Hand base a few days Dragonborn should be back on that very day and for some reason the thought was overwhelming. Aela sighed again, burying her face into her hands for a few seconds.

Maybe Kodlack had caught on about their attacks on the werewolf hunters? But if that was the case why did he have to ask Annika about it? Why not just ask the huntress? She was always in Jorrvaskr and basically hadn't left it since Skjor's death. Maybe it was regarding something else. If so, then what? Idly moving her hands towards one of the parchments in front of her Aela rolled it into a scroll before wrapping it with a tie, placing it into a pile of ones that looked just like it. She grabbed the bottle of mead she had been nursing for the last few hours, taking another very small swig. The first few days after Skjor's passing she had gotten horribly drunk. Now it was difficult to be sober. But she was managing.

All of the papers were starting to look the same to her from days of staring at the same ones, trying to find a secret that might lead her to a base or more information but finding nothing. She had sucked what little resources she had dry and was left with no more leads, nothing else to go off of. One of her nearly quaking hands made its way to her crimson hair and started fiddling with it, eyes closing gently at first but then clenching tightly shut from frustration.

This is getting nowhere. Take a break. Aela told herself in her head. Although it took much more effort than it should have, the huntress placed both of her hands on the edge of the table and pushed hard, the chair moving away from it. She stood up very slowly before pushing the chair back into place and looking up and down the hall. Nobody was in sight, not even Tilma. It was oddly quiet.

The silence was suddenly broken by the familiar sound of the door to the living quarters being pushed open. Aela's head lazily turned that way, her movements slowed because of how heavy her body was with grief at all times. Standing by the door, looking a bit worse for wear was Annika Vvanderfell. Even though she had a few bruises lining her arms and very shallow cuts on some of her exposed skin, the Dragonborn never ceased to look absolutely perfect. Her toned, muscular arms made their way to her head, where she fiddled at her braids as if they had come loose which they definitely hadn't. Her beautiful sapphire eyes locked immediately onto Aela. One of her delicate looking hands rested on a waterskin strapped to her hip, the other raised lowly in a slight wave. The huntress didn't return the gesture of greeting and simply let herself become more intoxicated from her Shield-sister's beauty than she was from her alcoholic beverage.

"Hi..." Annika muttered, stepping closer to the huntress. The distance between the two was much larger than Aela wanted it to be. The two stared at one another for a few moments. The huntress didn't speak a word in response to the greeting and instead simply extended her hand. The Dragonborn moved forward, grasping her Shield-sibling's hand gently and shaking twice. The beautiful Nord didn't let go of Aela's hand and held it loosely, the huntress not finding herself emotionally strong enough to break the grasp.

"Hey..." Aela finally murmured. Her voice cracked. If she had thought Annika's expression showed sympathy before now pity was thrown in the mix as well. Silently cursing at herself in her mind, when the Dragonborn extended her arms ever so slightly the huntress threw herself into them. Fair, soft hands wrapped her tightly in a warm embrace, making her almost want to cry. But she wouldn't. Not after her fit of sobbing when she first discovered Skjor's body. Just thinking about that made her embarrassed all over again.

"I know you don't want to talk about it..." Annika whispered, her lips nearly pressed against her ear, "...but if you ever have anything to say don't hesitate to come to me." Her voice was more comforting than anything else ever could have been. The huntress felt the grief relenting. She also felt the fond feelings from what felt like ages before returning at a steady rate. Unable to speak for fear of tears Aela simply nodded into her Shield-sister's shoulder. She could feel her crimson hair being stroked and it made chills go up and down her spine. The two stayed that way for a long time before the huntress finally remembered what Kodlack had asked of her.

"Kodlack wants to see you..." Aela muttered into the Dragonborn's shoulder plate. She never wanted Annika to let go yet she knew that wasn't an option. Her eyes clenched tightly closed in irritation, wishing that she could freeze the moment they were in.

The Dragonborn continued to stroke her Shield-sister's hair, twirling it with her fingers in a compassionate way. Aela found herself nearly overcome with the feelings that enveloped her, Annika's scent overwhelming her senses. It was a mixture of combat and the wilderness. Tundra cotton flowers and blood. It was a strange combination indeed, but for some reason it was one of the most alluring things she had ever had to endure.

"Did he tell you what it was about?" The Dragonborn's voice was so sweet sounding it made her tremble a bit. Aela felt her Shield-sister's grip tighten in a defensive way when she did so. A smile made its way to her lips.

"No... my advice; always be honest with the old man, but don't tell him anything he doesn't need to know." Knowing that she might very well be unable to in a fe seconds, the huntress forced herself to withdraw from the embrace yet it seemed difficult for Annika as well. The two pulled back, the space between them still very small, exchanging heavy breaths between one another. Right when the huntress thought she was going to lose all control and capture those lips with her own, the Dragonborn took a few steps back, a warm smile on her perfect face.

"I won't be long."

* * *

This plan seemed unnecessary. If she had to carry it out with anyone other than Annika, Aela thought she might have refused.

Like she had predicted, Kodlack had his suspicions on their dealings with the Silver Hand. He was worried about a counterattack. The huntress thought that in particular was ridiculous, those werewolf hunters were far too cowardly to storm into Jorrvaskr like that. Either way, if she was going to continue her efforts to eradicate them she would have to convince her paranoid Harbinger that they were doing other things as well. Annika's idea was to focus more on the fragments of Wuuthrad, and that recovering one would show him how they had been multitasking. During her research on the Silver Hand she had managed to recover some minor information regarding the fragments, and if her hopes were correct she had pinpointed one of their locations. It was an old nordic ruin. The huntress and the Dragonborn were headed there, Annika with seemingly no cares in the world while Aela proceeded sullenly, still a bit weighted by grief.

As the two walked through the chilling Skyrim air, not a large distance between them, Aela started to realize something. She knew absolutely nothing of the Vvanderfell's past. Not of her heritage, her beliefs, her history in general. The only thing she was sure of was that she had joined the Companions with thorough interest. Other than that the beautiful Nord remained a complete mystery. Her crimson brow furrowed at the thoughts. For all she knew this carefree soul may have a terribly dark past, troubled families, or emotional scars. She looked at the beautiful woman at her side from the corner of her eye. Before her thoughts could convince her otherwise, Aela decided to ask about it.

"Annika?" Her voice sounded meek and small. She cleared her throat, not waiting for a response, "I was just thinking... well..." The huntress remembered that she wanted to try to be more straightforward with the Dragonborn. Although it was a bit difficult to do with all of the nerves seemingly clawing at her insides, she managed, "...we've known each other for a while now, but I still know nothing of your past." A major shift in the air made Aela tense up, "If you would rather not talk about it I completely understand. I was just curious, as all."

Annika started fiddling with things to preoccupy herself, a sign of nervousness that only made Aela even more curious. It also made her wonder if she had crossed a line she hadn't known was drawn. Maybe her past was a touchy topic. If so she regretted bringing it up. Right as the Dragonborn started adjusting her braids, she managed to speak in such a tone Aela became very concerned.

"Let me just ask you a question..." Annika murmured in a way that the huntress couldn't place what emotions were behind it. She wanted to hold the Dragonborn's hand, to comfort her and tell her that it was alright, but she didn't. She couldn't. Instead she simply listened with extreme intent to the next words said, "...do you side with the Empire or the Stormcloaks?"

That question was not at all what she expected. Now that it was actually being asked she found herself a bit lost. Aela knew that Farkas sided with the Stormcloaks while Vilkas sided with the Imperials, one of the few disagreements the two had. She also knew that many of the Companions didn't much care for politics and were simply ready to defend Whiterun, no matter who was attacking. The huntress felt like that was more something she would do.

"I don't pay much attention to the war... so I guess I don't side with either. Why do you ask?" Their footsteps and paces were starting to synchronize. But the Dragonborn seemed far more calm than Aela.

Annika sighed lightly, running her hand down her face for a second or two, "Because the only reason I even came to Skyrim was... well..." Her brow furrowed, beautiful sapphire eyes drifting to the road, "...I was supposed to be executed by the Empire at Helgen. The only reason I survived was because of the dragon attack."

Aela was thoroughly surprised. She was definitely not expecting that as an answer. Even though she was the Dragonborn, and the huntress had heard several tales of dragons attacking all holds, but when she tried to picture her Shield-sister fighting the ancient beasts she simply couldn't. Yet another shock was that technically Annika was an outlaw to the empire. Yet she had sent her on plenty of jobs near Haafingar and the Dragonborn returned unscathed. Perhaps nobody from Helgen had survived to report her. Her jaw set.

"...where are you originally from, if not Skyrim?" Aela asked, changing the topic for fear of where that conversation would have gone. Honestly she didn't care what Annika's criminal record was. Her morals seemed in order to her, and that was all that mattered.

The air lightened. Clearly the Dragonborn was relieved she no longer had to talk about the troubled parts of her past and could return to the facts, "My only family left lives in Cyrodiil. Most of my elders died during the Great War, but I still have my father. He lives in a city called Bruma. We used to be very close - but ever since I came to Skyrim we've only been communicating by letter..." Annika sighed, "...I miss him..."

The huntress' brow furrowed ever so slightly, feeling sympathy for the beautiful Nord at her side. Aela herself had no family left alive, but then again she hadn't been overly close with them or separated from either of her parents for too long. She slowly opened her mouth to continue discussing the topic but she decided against it after spotting their destination not far off. Annika spotted it as well, the two unsheathing their weapons in odd unison. Whenever the huntress thought of ancient Nords the ominous Draugr came to mind. Little did she know that the two Companions would be dealing with dozens of them soon enough.

* * *

"Fus-"

Aela's eyes widened, turning away from her combat with a Wight to see Annika barely fending off a very intimidating undead Nord. The Draugr wore a helm, something that she hadn't seen on any of the previous ones she had slain. It must have been a sign of power. This one must have been stronger than the others. The huntress was having a hard enough time with the Scourges. Running her Skyforge steel sword through the walking corpse she was attacking and tossing it to the floor afterward, Aela kept her eyes glued to her struggling Shield-sister. Turning to help on instinct and not knowing if there were any other threats nearby, her sudden movements towards the Draugr Lord got its attention to turn to her.

"-Ro Dah!"

The next thing she knew, a force more brutal than any sort of shield had ever felt slammed into her front and knocked her entirely off her feet. Air whistled in her ears as she was shot backwards at unreal speeds, the wind viciously knocked out of her lungs and leaving her mouth in a strangled gasp. Aela felt as if she was in the air that way for hours, being put into a sort of shock that was only shattered when she hit something. Something sharp.

It was a table covered in ancient Nordic embalming tools. A good amount of them embedded into her back while the ones that didn't cut it severely. The huntress cried out loudly, feeling blood gushing from the dozens of newly acquired wounds. Never in her life had she endured such excruciating pain at the one time - the only thing slightly comparable when she first turned into a beast. Blades had touched and scraped her spinal cord, some still stuck in her flesh as she fell flat on her face. Silver eyes clamped tightly shut and repeated hisses and groans of pain were emit through clenched teeth. It didn't help the agony.

"Aela!" A familiar yet distant sounding voice called out her name. For some reason it sounded as if the speaker was incredibly far away from her. The huntress felt her mind becoming very foggy. It was difficult to determine what was going on. All of her body other than her injured back started to numb. The sound of a blade entering flesh was for some reason louder than the voice had been. Something had died. Footsteps that were very distorted and eerie made their way to her. Or were they getting farther away? Aela couldn't tell. Nothing made sense.

Maybe her eyes had been open, because at a point through the searing pain she spotted a flickering orange ball in the fuzzy palm of somebody's hand. It flitted a few times before disappearing altogether, the hand's owner exclaiming "Damn!" as she shook her palm about in an attempt to boost her magicka. Although the huntress could barely feel anything other than her back, when smooth delicate hands rested on her shoulders the sensation was so familiar Aela realized who they belonged to. Annika.

The Dragonborn's usually alluring voice now sounded desperate. Pleading. Worried sick. What parts that the huntress managed to make out were very quiet and vague, while the rest of it sounded as if it were in a different language of some kind.

"Aela come on! U-um stay with me I-I can get you help!" Her Shield-sister tried to say, her panic showing very clearly in her tone. The orange ball flickered again before fading once more, the Dragonborn emitting a more foul curse that time. When one of the blades stuck in her back was grabbed by the hilt and torn out without any prior warning, Aela couldn't help but cry out sharply in pain. A smooth arm held her to the ground where she writhed, "Sorry! I'm so sorry!"

The world seemed to be drifting steadily past her. Suddenly the urge to sleep was becoming stronger and stronger. The huntress felt more exhausted than she had ever felt in her entire life, as if she hadn't slept in weeks. Her eyelids became heavy. Her mind was having such a hard time trying to part the fog that it simply made her more drowsy. She felt her body slump as the strange, intoxicating sleep started to overcome her but fair hands on her cold cheeks woke her up again.

"Stay with me damn it! I'm getting you out of here!" Annika's voice spoke again, this time in a shout. The huntress couldn't move, see, and her ability to hear was also starting to gradually fade. Thinking, too, seemed nearly impossible not to mention pointless at that moment. What was she going to think about? It was too hard to figure out what was going on. The pain in her back was beginning to spread throughout her entire body, and even the slightest touch made her grimace or cringe. It was too much. She just had to... sleep. If she slept then she would have her strength back. Sleeping was good. Her decision silently made - a way to escape the pain hopefully, Aela stopped trying to fight her instinct and let slumber overtake her.